59 DOJ employees test positive for Covid-19

Out of 175 DOJ employees who underwent testing on Wednesday afternoon, 16 have tested positive for Covid-19, Guevarra said. (File photo by Ramon FVelasquez/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) will continue with its normal operations even after 59 of its employees have tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) during rapid testing.

“I have instructed all those who have tested positive to stop reporting for work and undergo swab tests immediately. The rest may work from home. The premises will be disinfected again,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in a message to newsmen on Wednesday.

Out of 175 DOJ employees who underwent testing on Wednesday afternoon, 16 have tested positive for Covid-19, Guevarra said.

On Tuesday, 43 out of 273 employees who underwent testing yielded positive results.

“We told them to work from home if they have already been tested or if they have no need to be physically present. At no time was work at the DOJ ever discontinued,” he said.

The DOJ compound in Padre Faura, Manila has about 700 workers.